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Topic: NHL 2007 - 2008 (Read 13621 times)

Stepping on someone with your skate? Jesus, you could cause a lot of harm doing that. I haven't seen the footage or read a whole lot about the incident, but I agree JJ -- doing something that stupid is deserving of at least that many games.

A couple nights ago in the Rangers/Pens game, a Ranger took a shot at Kennedy on the Penguins by shoving 6 inches of the but of his stick up into his face too, and the refs completely "missed" it somehow, despite it occurring right in front of them...

Last I looked, spearing was a pretty hefty suspension too... In the face, I'd think is even moreso. I'm the last guy to criticize violence in the NHL... I'm a big fan of retaining fighting as simply part of the game. I think the league's losing some control on players though, and really needs to get SEVERE with their punishments.

I saw the Simon kick on Ruutu when it happened... It's a pretty blatant stomp downward on Ruutu's ankle with Simon's blade. A big prick move, and one that I think had he not been escorted off the ice, Laraque would be facing a suspension himself right now...

Too many goons around the league in general who have no business on the ice, much less in the league at all.

I'm stealing a post from Jeff about the Winter Classic that we're talking about in the Pittsburgh section of the Mission Log...

Anyway, my buddy Bill (Stormtrooper213) and I drove up from Pittsburgh to Buffalo for the game, and what a freakin' incredible game it was to watch, witness, be there, enjoy... A ton of fun. The snow and things just added to the atmosphere.

The worst part of the weather was getting there and going home. In PA on I-79 we hit some bad roads up near Erie because of the lake-effect... I-90 to Buffalo was clear though, so we got there fine once past Erie. We hung out where we parked a little while, had a beer with some Buffalo guys next to us, and suited up for the game...

We had about a half mile to walk to the stadium, and it was like a minefield. Buffalo fans were either nice and jovial about everything, or they simply walked up and told you the Penguins (or Crosby, or yourself) "******' suck", or something similar. I didn't help matters by having a Terrible Towel on my belt that I freely waved while we walked through all the tailgating Buffalo people...

At the first, "Penguins suck" remark, I just said "2-0 shutout last game baby!" and we kept going. You could tell the real dicks because they told you to go f yourself or something. The Towel usually got a, "Steelers aren't playing today idiot!", to which I'd reply, "The Bills aren't playing the rest of the season!", and a good laugh was had by anyone with Pittsburgh stuff on.

I'd say the crowd was 75% cool though, and 25% idiots... Way more than I ever have seen/heard in Pitt for any sporting event though, even playoffs. The 25% were all VERY typical though. They all seemed to be college-aged dolts trying to act tough, and many were women who clearly felt it was their right to be as vulgar in a Pittsburgh fan's face as they wanted to be with no fear of being slapped in the mouth... They were the funnest ones to reply to though because usually any guy with them would get real pissed off about it.

Like I said, 25%'s not bad at all. Most people were real cool, especially the gang we sat around... We had a bunch of people from Pitt right around us too. On my left and right in front were about 7 or so Pittsburgh people so we made a nice annoying little cluster. And again, my Towel didn't do much but incite anger.

The game itself was fun... The snow really did just add to the atmosphere. The game dragged on forever though at times it seemed. Breaks were very long and drawn out due to conditions and ice repair/maintenance. I would've been happy with the whole thing regardless I think, but my friends and I agreed that the whole thing was capped off as perfect with a 2-1 victory after a full shootout... And the cherry on top was Crosby, who sorta blows at the shootout at times, scores the winner with a nifty set of moves! Friggin' classic!

I wanted to say thanks to Bill (Stormtrooper213) again for A) getting the tickets, which were pretty much impossible to get in Pittsburgh and selling for a ton on Ebay, and B) for driving a large chunk of the ride home. I got us from Buffalo to the PA line on I-90, but cars were off the road everywhere, and I'd been so exhausted from the drive up and the game and everything, and was on a jittery edge the whole time... He did the last leg of driving, and it took us forever to get back home in that crappy weather we had. Thumbs up to PennDOT for completely ignoring large portions of I-79 too... Way to go guys! Working hard at hardly working!

We had a good time though, and I think these chicks behind us were even into us... Not sure on that, but I know they at least dug Bill.

Oh, and below is a post from Jeff... Bill found pictures that featured he and I. Jeff blew up the image. Lower left corner, 2nd or 3rd up from the bottom, and 2nd or 3rd in from the left is me. Bill is on my right then in sunglasses... We made Yahoo Sports and ESPN.com both I guess, AND we were on TV at one point briefly around 7:20 something in the 3rd period. What a day!

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I watched the game on TV and I could have sworn that I saw JJ when they showed that sign... I thought I was just seeing things sinceI knew he was there, but now that you confirm it - it was him!

Here are the pics for posterity:

It looked like a fun game... aside from the ****** ice conditions, and the snow on the ice, and all the tv timeouts, etc.

Ice sucked for the players too, no doubt. You could see them falling over their feet constantly from ruts. Folks up high said you could make the ruts out fairly clearly actually. The timeouts blew too. Sucked it you had to pee, or if you did nothing but have anxiety about the ride home.

Without a doubt Jesse... The pictures were really icing on the cake when we got back. The game itself was nothing short of incredible. I think the ONLY thing I'd rather have seen is a Stanly Cup win in Pittsburgh. I'd love to be there for that someday.

But, from a hockey player's perspective, this game I got to see was almost religious. Being from Pittsburgh, you just couldn't play outside really... It's cold here, but not to the point ponds really froze over (to the point you'd trust them) around here. It's something I'm hoping I could even do again if the rumors of a Beaver Stadium game turned out true at Penn State. I'd try making it up to that. Shorter trip by far, and a Pens/Flyers match-up would be even more brutal/tenacious.

Regardless though, that game played out like it was scripted. Bill kept saying he thought it was fixed, how it turned out, and it was really incredible the way it played out and ended. Crosby's not even been great in the shootout, but man did he put a move in that one to win it.

I don't think I'll ever risk a roadtrip to Buffalo in winter again though.

The best part of the celebration was when one of the Canadians jumped a little to far over the pile up and you just see this kid fly over his teammates and into the boards. I couldnt stop laughing. it was a good game too, the Swedes really gave us a run for our money as they were all over us in the last couple of minutes.

Logged

School has been on strike all month. so much for the summer job I was hoping to get D:

Penguins have the longest winning streak going in I believe 9 years... 98-99 season I think was what I heard. And Crosby trounced voting for the All-Star Game, which is a given at this point...

I felt when Lemieux retired that there was just something missing for me with hockey. I'd become spoiled on the sport because I grew up watching the man that I still consider the greatest hockey player of all time, every time I went to see a game. When he retired, it took something from my childhood away, and it took away the reason I even picked up a stick and played in the first place...

It took a couple ****** seasons to get that spark back, but man was it worth it to me... Not even looking at the other true star-caliber players we've got in Malkin & Co., but just having the chance to watch a player like Crosby, who I'm convinced can be the greatest of all time, again in my lifetime, and in the same town, is really a blessing to me as a fan... The Penguins overall have been on fire lately, I'm watching great hockey, I got to see an outdoor game in my lifetime...

I'm not playing, but this may be the best year of hockey of my life... My body can't take the game much anymore, though I'd like to try it at some point, but not on a real competitive level of course... But yet, I can't get enough of watching it these days. Even when were losing, I was enjoying myself, but there's something about this year that's been special to me... I think that outdoor game just sealed it. I'm in hockey heaven these days.

Sources close to the situation say Bob Naegele Jr., lead investor in Minnesota Sports Entertainment, the parent company of the NHL's Minnesota Wild, is selling the hockey franchise.

The new owner is said to be Craig Leipold, who just completed a sale of the NHL's Nashville Predators on December 7th.

Published reports had linked Leipold to the Wild for a number of reasons. Leipold was said to covet the stability of the Wild's season ticket base, he maintains a residence in Wisconsin, and he left the Predators in good standing with the other NHL owners.

A news conference is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. today at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Crosby got a high ankle sprain tonight in the game against Tampa... Sucks for the Pens who've now had 3 HA sprains this season that have sidelined the starting goalie, a hard-working forward, and now our top player... Blah.

Of course, in true Pittsburgh fashion, the media is all doom and gloom... My opinion is that they need to have some of the depth our team has hoarded away to finally step up and take charge. Malkin had a nice game tonight despite a shutout, but the rest of the team needs to step up and put the puck in the net... Malkin's a kid yet and not displayed a ton of leadership. Guys like Malone need to really get some balls and take the bull by the horns right now with this team... Armstrong, Gonchar, Malone, and the like need to really just man up.

Anyone planning on watching the All-Star game this weekend? I'd like to since I recently got a high def cable box and need to test it out on a big game like that. Of course, it depends on how much work my wife puts me to.

Why did they name him as an interim GM? Doesn't that just tell the players and staff that anything he does is temporary? I don't see how that can help the team, they'll just slack off and slide down the standings even further.